The Ancestor Game

Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The Ancestor Game by Alex Miller, Allen & Unwin
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Alex Miller ISBN: 9781742697222
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Publication: September 1, 2003
Imprint: Allen & Unwin Language: English
Author: Alex Miller
ISBN: 9781742697222
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Publication: September 1, 2003
Imprint: Allen & Unwin
Language: English

Steven Muir, August Spiess and his daughter Gertrude, and Lang Tzu all acknowledge a restless sense of cultural displacement, an ambivalence in their relations with the culture of European Australia. Steven left England for Australia as a young man and his one attempt at returning is unsuccessful. August Spiess, although he speaks frequently of returning to his native Hamburg, fails to make the journey, as does his daughter Gertrude. Lang Tzu's very name defines his fate: 'two characters which in Mandarin signify the son who goes away.'

The 'game', however, does have winners. For despite their yearnings for the home of their ancestral dreams, a desire to belong somewhere that is truly their own, none of Miller's characters leaves Australia, and each in their own way comes to see that to be at home in exile may be a defining paradox of the European Australian condition: the paradox of belonging and estrangement that perhaps lies uneasily at the heart of all European cultures.

The Ancestor Game, which Robert Dessaix described as 'one of the most engrossing books I've read in a long time', is an enthralling journey into the ancestral dreams and present dilemmas of a rich cast of characters.

'A wonderful novel of stunning intricacy and great beauty.' - Michael Ondaatje

'Takes the historical novel to new frontiers. It is fabulous in every sense of the word.' - Commonwealth Writers Prize judges

'Extraordinary fictional portraits of China and Australia.' - New York Times Book Review

'A major new novel of grand design and rich texture, a vast canvas of time and space, its gaze outward yet its vision intimate and intellectually abundant.' - The Age

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Steven Muir, August Spiess and his daughter Gertrude, and Lang Tzu all acknowledge a restless sense of cultural displacement, an ambivalence in their relations with the culture of European Australia. Steven left England for Australia as a young man and his one attempt at returning is unsuccessful. August Spiess, although he speaks frequently of returning to his native Hamburg, fails to make the journey, as does his daughter Gertrude. Lang Tzu's very name defines his fate: 'two characters which in Mandarin signify the son who goes away.'

The 'game', however, does have winners. For despite their yearnings for the home of their ancestral dreams, a desire to belong somewhere that is truly their own, none of Miller's characters leaves Australia, and each in their own way comes to see that to be at home in exile may be a defining paradox of the European Australian condition: the paradox of belonging and estrangement that perhaps lies uneasily at the heart of all European cultures.

The Ancestor Game, which Robert Dessaix described as 'one of the most engrossing books I've read in a long time', is an enthralling journey into the ancestral dreams and present dilemmas of a rich cast of characters.

'A wonderful novel of stunning intricacy and great beauty.' - Michael Ondaatje

'Takes the historical novel to new frontiers. It is fabulous in every sense of the word.' - Commonwealth Writers Prize judges

'Extraordinary fictional portraits of China and Australia.' - New York Times Book Review

'A major new novel of grand design and rich texture, a vast canvas of time and space, its gaze outward yet its vision intimate and intellectually abundant.' - The Age

More books from Allen & Unwin

Cover of the book Bridie's Fire by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Screen Media by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Easy Weekends: Lazy Brunches by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Zafir: Through My Eyes by Alex Miller
Cover of the book The Baby Farmers by Alex Miller
Cover of the book The Biggest Estate on Earth by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Connie's Secret: The True Story Of A Shocking Murder And A Family Mystery At A Time When Appearances Were Everything by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Blood and Circuses by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Tashi and the Forbidden Room by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Zarconi's Magic Flying Fish by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Ralph Honner by Alex Miller
Cover of the book The Poison Plot: Sword Girl Book 2 by Alex Miller
Cover of the book That Empty Feeling by Alex Miller
Cover of the book Game Changer! The Susie K Files 2 by Alex Miller
Cover of the book The Man on the Headland by Alex Miller
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy